


Unknown

by JadeMoon



Category: werewolf - Fandom
Genre: Deputy, Dialogue, F/M, Factions, Gen, Hunting, Murder, Werewolf, state troopers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 18:20:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11765682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeMoon/pseuds/JadeMoon
Summary: WIP. I have a lot of these. This one is about werewolves, and guys dressing up like cops and murder and 2 best friends caught in the cross fire





	Unknown

“He’s back!” Desiree yelled. She was looking out of the large bay window in the dining room at the stranger who was standing in her friend’s back yard.  
“Again?” Ella shouted from the bedroom.  
“He’s just staring up at the house. Just like you said he does,” Desiree shouted again.  
“You can stop shouting now,” Ella whispered playfully in Desiree’s ear. Desiree jumped and choked back a scream. Ella couldn’t help but smile at her younger friend.  
“What’s he doing?” Desiree asked looking back out the window.  
“Don’t know. He just comes into the yard and stares up at the house.”  
“Everyday?”  
“Yup. Sometimes two or three times a day. Sometimes more,” Ella answered.  
“Creeper much?” Desiree asked, chilled by the thought of the stranger doing this to her friend. She rubbed her arms briskly as if trying to remove the chill the thought had given her. Then she asked, “Have you called the cops?”  
“And tell them what? Technically what he’s standing on are state game lands. He’s not trespassing by their standards. He hasn’t done anything threatening…”  
“Dude! He’s stalking you through your window!” Desiree protested.  
“He’s made no threatening moves or gestures and has not destroyed any personal property,” Ella replied matter-of-factly.  
“He’s staring at you. We should waive,” Desiree said waiving furiously at the stranger.  
“You’re an ass. Put your hand down,” Ella scolded grabbing Desiree’s hand and pulling it down.  
The stranger responded by smiling coyly and winking at Ella.  
“Um…”  
“And this is why we don’t waive at strangers, Des,” Ella said pulling the drapes closed. “Let’s go watch TV.”  
Desiree looked back at the now concealed window then followed Ella into the living room for some mind numbing entertainment.  
   
“At least he’s cute,” Desiree mused almost an hour after they’d started watching TV.  
“What?” Ella asked snapping back from a near nap.  
“Your weird dude. At least he’s cute. You know. Most guys who do that are gross looking and creepy.”  
“He is creepy,” Ella reminded her.  
“Yeah, but, he’s not that gross or weird looking. He’s actually quite handsome. You know at least he’s not a ginger or something.”  
“Jesus, Des!” Ella laughed.  
“What?” Desiree asked innocently.  
“A ginger. Nice.”  
“He’s not though,” Desiree persisted. “He’s got nice dark hair and he looks like he’s a sharp dresser.”  
“Yes, he’s a lovely chest of drawers,” Ella teased.  
“What?” Desiree asked looking at Ella for an explanation she knew she wouldn’t get.  
“Nothing. Never mind.”  
“You could ask him what he wants,” Desiree offered.  
“Yes. Or I can chose not to exacerbate the issue.”  
“Exa-what now?”  
“Make it worse, Des’.”  
“Oh. You and your $5 words.”  
“What is wrong with you?” Ella asked chuckling at her friend.  
“So you think asking him why he keeps coming around will make things worse? Why?” Desiree asked ignoring Ella’s question.  
“Because I’m hoping if I ignore him he’ll go away. Talking to him will only keep him coming around. You know, like when you feed a stray cat,” Ella explained.  
“He hasn’t stopped showing up yet,” Desiree pointed out.  
“I know this, Captain Obvious.”  
“I’m just saying,” Desiree continued, “he’s still coming around and it’s been going on for how long now?”  
“Two months,” Ella replied without any thought.  
“Two months…TWO MONTHS?!” Desiree yelled when Ella’s statement sunk in.  
“Yeah,” Ella said letting the time frame sink in as well.  
“You should definitely say something,” Desiree stated as she got up and stretched.  
“Leaving so soon?”  
“Yup. Have to go to work tomorrow. And so do you,” Desiree reminded Ella.  
“No four letter words aloud in my house, dammit,” Ella scolded waiving her finger at Desiree. Desiree giggled and headed to the door.  
“Be careful going home, please,” Ella called to Desiree as she climbed into her car. Desiree honked the horn once and then backed out of the driveway. Ella closed the door and locked it then headed to the kitchen.  
She paused at the dining room window and peeked out of the drapes. The stranger was blessedly gone. Ella heaved a sigh of relief. Ella headed back to her bedroom to get ready for bed.  
Desiree met Ella at the entrance to work the following morning.  
“Yay! Another fresh day,” Desiree sang.  
“Yes,” Ella chimed in, “what fresh hell will today bring?”  
“You’re so funny,” Desiree laughed as they headed inside.  
It was late when Ella got home that night. She had stayed for a few extra hours of overtime and then met up with Desiree and some other friends for a late dinner. By the time she pulled into the driveway it was going on ten o’clock.  
Just as she was about to turn the headlights off in her Jeep something darted in front of the car and around to the back of her house. Something large enough to make Ella shriek in both fear and surprise.  
“What the bloody hell was that?” she asked no one. Her voice seemed too loud for her inside the Jeep. It made her shudder. She flipped the Jeep’s high beams on and scanned the area. Nothing else moved and the only sound to be heard were the summer cicadas.  
After several minutes of nothing happening Ella mustered up her composure and shut the Jeep’s headlights off. She cut the engine and stepped out of her safety zone. As soon as she’d closed the Jeep’s door she was running to her front door. Ella jammed the key in the lock so hard she cracked her knuckles on the door. As soon as she was inside she slammed the door shut and locked it.  
Safe inside her own home she suddenly felt incredibly foolish. She’d lived in that house for more than five years. That house had been her great grandmother’s, where she’d spent many a summer. That house that was her home. That house that was on state game lands and she knew had a variety of wild animals living around it. Hell, one summer she and her great gran had watched a bear drag the trash can off into the woods. She wasn’t frightened then so why should she be frightened now? Ella shook her head and headed toward the living room to unwind a little more before bed.  
  
   
Ella was dozing on the couch when an ear piercing howl brought her to her feet, eyes wide, heart pounding. She stood stock still in the middle of her living room listening intently. The only thing she could hear now was the lull of I Love Lucy coming from the TV.  
After several minutes her adrenalin rush subsided and her head began to swim from the sudden rush. Ella ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes willing her head to stop swirling. It was going on midnight and she was extremely tired. Ella decided to head to bed. She intentionally bypassed the bay window in the dining room, she’d had enough starts for one night.  
   
Ella woke up late the next morning. It was nearly noon when she rolled over to look at her phone.  
“Thank god it’s Saturday,” she said rolling out of bed. She stretched and meandered to the bathroom for her shower.  
Ella had just finished her shower and was still drying her hair when the doorbell rang and then someone knocked.  
“What the hell,” she grumbled half expecting it to be Desiree. “Who is it?”  
“Sheriff’s office, ma’am. Deputy Ryder.”  
“I’m sure you would,” she mumbled to herself as she peered through the peephole. There was in fact a man in uniform at her door. “Shit.”  
Ella opened the door and before her stood a tall, broad shouldered man with jet black hair and ice blue eyes. To say he made that uniform look good would have been the understatement of the year.  
“Ma’am?” the deputy said when Ella said nothing.  
“Deputy,” she replied casually and offered him an amused smile.  
“Ma’am, are you Ella Delgado?” he asked running the brim of his hat between his hands.  
“Last I checked.”  
“Ma’am, may I come in?” the deputy asked.  
“If you stop calling me ma’am, sure,” Ella said opening the door further and motioning for the deputy to step inside. The deputy dropped his head in acknowledgment and stepped inside.  
“Want some coffee?” she offered leading him into the kitchen.  
“No, thank you, ma- Miss Delgado,” he said catching himself.  
“Tea, juice, milk, bong water,” Ella continued deliberately pressing her luck.  
“What? No, thank you,” the deputy replied uncertainly.  
“Why are you here, Deputy Ryder,” Ella said seeing she wasn’t getting anywhere toying with the deputy. Instead she filled her Keurig with water and set it up to make herself some much needed coffee.  
“Ma’am…”  
“I asked you not to do that,” Ella snapped as she turned to face the deputy. He had parted the drapes to her dining room window and was looking out of the window. His features had taken on a stern look far from the boyish one he’d presented at the door. Ella growled low in her throat and turned her attention to whatever the Deputy was looking at. It took her a few moments to realize what she was seeing. Her bay window facing out to her backyard and the state game lands had something red smeared all across it.  
“What the hell is that?” she asked pulling the drapes open further to reveal the lower portion of the window was covered from one side to the other. She reached out to touch the glass and was stopped by Deputy Ryder taking her hand and gently pulling it back away from the window. Ella looked at the deputy with questioning eyes.  
“We’ll need to dust for prints…”  
“Inside my house? What the hell is that?” Ella demanded.  
“Yes, ma’am. This is what I came to see you about. We had reports of strange noises coming from this area…”  
“Noise? What kind of noise?” Ella asked remembering what had happened last night with too much clarity.  
“Like wild animals fighting, lots of growling.”  
“Seriously?” Ella asked becoming dubious of the vague explanation.  
“Yes, ma’am…”  
“For gods sakes stop calling me ma’am!” Ella barked. The deputy recoiled briefly making Ella feel like an idiot.  
“Miss Delgado…”  
“Ella. Just…just call me Ella,” she said quietly looking away from the Deputy and towards the kitchen where the Keurig had just finished filling her cup.  
“Ella,” the deputy repeated with a small smile. “Did you hear anything last night?”  
Ella’s first inclination was to say no, but something stopped her before she was able to utter the word.  
“Ella?” the deputy urged.  
Ella opened her mouth to say something but the words wouldn’t come out. She looked into the deputy’s ice blue eyes and was momentarily lost.  
“Howling,” she said barely above a whisper.  
“Howling?” the deputy repeated. Ella felt her face go flush and she looked away.  
“I thought I heard howling last night. I had dozed off on the couch and the noise woke me…but it was probably just a dream,” she explained hoping to redeem herself form sounding like a nut job.  
“Did you hear it anymore after that?”  
“No. I really think it was a dream.”  
Deputy Ryder nodded thoughtfully. Ella watched the muscles in his chest rise and fall rhythmically under that well fitted uniform.  
“I think I’ll have that coffee now, if you please, Ella,” he said after a moment.  
“Coffee?” Ella asked breaking free from her hypnotic state.  
“Black, please,” the deputy said with a smile.  
   
An hour later there were two state troopers at her home poking around the back yard. Ella had called Desiree but had only gotten her voicemail. She sent Desiree a text, but still no reply.  
Ella heard the front door close and footsteps head towards her in the kitchen. Deputy Ryder appeared and offered her a warm smile.  
“Ma’am…I mean, Miss Delgado,” he said upon entering the room.  
“Deputy Ryder,” she answered.  
“The troopers are getting ready to leave. They’ll be in in a moment I’m sure.”  
“Did they figure out what that was on my window?”  
“The results are…inconclusive right now,” Deputy Ryder said choosing his words carefully.  
“Really,” Ella replied shortly.  
“Ma’am…Ella, they can’t make that determination until they get the samples back to the labs.”  
“Deputy Ryder…”  
“Cade.”  
“I’m sorry, what now?” she asked missing what the deputy had just said.  
“Cade. Call me Cade.”  
“Cade,” she repeated tasting the name like a fine wine. Then remembering her issue with the window, “What the hell is going on?”  
“Not sure, ma’am…Ella.”  
“Cade,” Ella sighed pinching the bridge of her nose, “I just want an honest answer. What the hell is all over my window?”  
The deputy was silent for a few moments while he contemplated his answer. He had just opened his mouth to say something when the two state troopers walked through the front door.  
“Miss Delgado?”  
“Living room,” she called. Cade took a seat on the couch next to Ella and placed his coffee cup on the end table next to him.  
“Ma’am, we just wanted to verify what you told Deputy Ryder here earlier,” the trooper said walking into the living room followed by his partner.  
“Sure.”  
“So…Deputy Ryder says you heard howling? Is that right?” the trooper asked as matter-of-factly as he could. Ella shot Cade a dirty look. Cade could only offer her an apologetic shrug.  
“Yes,” she answered.  
“Can you describe the howling?” the other trooper asked. Ella cocked her head to the side and looked at the trooper in agitation.  
“Howling. Like a dog. You know. Howling,” she said keeping her temper in check as best she could. What the hell kind of question was that?  
“Yes, ma’am, but what did it…can you describe it?” the officer persisted.  
“Would you like a demonstration?” Ella quipped letting her temper flare. She caught a glimpse of a smile on Cade’s face, but the two trooper were seemingly not amused.  
“Ma’am…”  
“For the ever loving holy mother,” Ella growled, “Ever watch a werewolf movie? That’s what it sounded like. I can’t describe it any better unless I start howling myself.”  
Cade bristled at her statement, the smile vanishing from his lips.  
“I see,” said the first trooper as he closed his notepad. “If there is anything else you can think of please call us,” he finished as he laid his card on the coffee table in front of her.  
“Deputy Ryder, we’ll be in touch,” the second trooper promised. Cade tipped his head in acknowledgment and rose from the couch to escort the troopers to the door. Ella glared at them, but made no move to let them out.  
“See to it that if she comes up with anything else you let us know, right, big dog?” the first trooper said with a demeaning tone.  
“Yup,” Cade replied closing the door. He walked back to the living room where Ella sat staring at her coffee mug.  
“Assholes.”  
“Troopers tend to be that way,” Cade agreed taking his seat next to her again.  
“And you,” Ella snapped turning her gaze to Cade, “you seriously put that howling shit down?”  
Cade opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it and closed it with a snap. After a few moments he tried again.  
“I’m sorry about the howling incident, but I had to put it down for the report. It wasn’t my intent to make you look foolish…”  
“Really?” she snapped. Cade gave her a look of sincerity she couldn’t deny. Ella immediately regretted her words. “I’m sorry, Deputy.”  
“Cade,” he reminded her.  
“Cade,” Ella repeated with a smile.  
“It’s alright. Look, I have to get back to town. I’ll leave my number. If you need me…anything,” he said correcting himself quickly. A flash of red crossed his cheeks and was gone.  
“Thanks,” Ella replied with a sweet smile. Cade smiled and stood up. Ella rose as well and the two walked to the door.  
“Remember, if something happens or you hear anything, call me.”  
“Will do,” she promised. Cade put his deputy hat on, tipped the brim to Ella and slowly made his way to his cruiser. He climbed in and watched Ella close the door. He waited another minute before backing out of the driveway.  
Ella watched as the Deputy crept out of her driveway and headed away. She knew he was looking at her, he had tried to conceal and that made Ella smile. At least Deputy Cade wasn’t a creeper like her stalker who’d been looming outside for nearly two months.  
Ella picked up her cell. There was a text from Desiree.  
“Bout damn time,” she grumbled as she opened the messenger app.  
“Hey! I was outside last night trying to see where your creeper was coming from but when the stupid noises and growling started I bailed. I kinda feel bad and should have said something earlier. Don’t hate. I’m looking out for you in my own way!”  
“Jesus jumped up…” Ella groaned even though she was smiling. She tapped the phone icon and called Des’s number.  
“Are you mad? If you are I’m hanging up,” Desiree’s familiar southern accent rang through the receiver.  
“No, but you’re an ass and why the hell would you put yourself in danger? There’s blood all over my damn window, cops crawling all over the freaking place and a smoking hot Deputy Sheriff you missed named Cade,” Ella blurted out in one long breath.  
“What the what? A hot deputy?” Desiree asked bypassing the more gruesome portion of Ella’s dialogue.  
“Yeah. I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried. Don’t do that dumb shit anymore, Des. If you want to scope out the creeper, do it from inside the damn house next time.”  
“Awww you do care!”  
“Only on days that end in ‘Y’,” Ella laughed.  
“I’ll pack a bag and come over,” Desiree said. Ella could already hear her throwing her stuff around her little apartment. “I’ll bring wine!”  
“There’s a two bottle minimum to get in the door.”  
“Uh I was going to bring at least four thank you very much!”  
“I’ll see you in a bit,” Ella laughed. She pressed the end call icon on the phone and then tossed it onto the couch. With Des coming over she would feel a little less creeped out and alone.

   
Cade pulled the cruiser into the parking lot. He pulled off the badge his Uncle had given him and tossed it onto the seat next to him. He felt bad about lying to the young lady about who he really was, but telling her would have gotten him arrested for sure. Not that impersonating an officer wasn’t grounds enough for being arrested already. He figured the two young state troopers would be too busy trying to show off to their superiors to question his credentials and thankfully neither had Ella.  
“Ella Delgado,” he mused to himself.  
Cade’s cellphone blared scaring him back to reality.  
“You rang?” He asked.  
“Where is she?”  
“At her house…”  
“You left her?!” The voice on the other end demanded.  
“Didn’t have much choice, Raz. State boys were crawling all over the property because of the display Nicolai and his crew put on last night. I couldn’t just scoop her up and walk out,” Cade protested.  
There was silence on the other end of the line. Raz wasn’t one to let the last word slip by him.  
“Why are you still on the phone, Cade? Go get the girl before something happens to her instead of one of her damnable old fogey neighbors!”  
“Jesus Christ, Raz! Impersonating a deputy sheriff wasn’t enough now you want me to kidnap her?”  
“Never said that. You did.”  
“For fucks sake,” Cade growled squeezing his eyes closed. Arguments were never won with Raz, they were abandoned.  
“Fine. Fine. I’ll go back. Anything in particular you want me to say to her?”  
“Just get your ass over there, Cade. You’ll come up with something. Bat your damn eyelashes at her and tell her she’s pretty, just don’t leave her out of your sight. Comprende?”  
Cade hung up the phone with an irritated grunt and rubbed his eyes. It was Gustav’s scent he’d picked up in the driveway when he arrived and on the state boys’ boots when they came traipsing through the door. It was a smear campaign. Nicolai had caught Alister that night watching the house and Gustav had caught and mangled one of Ella’s old ass neighbors and smeared the blood on Alister after roughing him up to the point he barely made it back home. They couldn’t and wouldn’t send Alister back. Fool that he was had been taken by Ella and her friend staring at him and thought it was a game of flirtation. What’s better than one piece of pie? Two.  
“Jackass,” Cade growled, throwing the car into reverse and backing out of the spot he’d pulled into. He needed a reason to go see Ella. A better reason then her feisty temper and knockout curves and full lips and…  
“FUCK!” Cade yelled slamming on the breaks as he nearly ran a red light and into cross traffic. The seat belt sat far too low and crushed the erection he’d given himself thinking of Ella. The pain was so immediate and intense it brought tears to his eyes. If he didn’t have a reason to focus before, he did so now.  
As he sat at the light waiting for it to change he wracked his brain on reasons to just show up on Ella’s doorstep.  
The light changed and Cade focused on driving. Another close call like that and he’d wind up as a eunuch somewhere.  
   
Desiree arrived in record time, a huge duffel bag slung over one shoulder and her arms full of wine bottles and her equally huge purse.  
“Are you moving in?” Ella asked when she opened the door that Desiree had repeatedly kicked to get her attention.  
“Just temporarily,” Des replied thrusting the bottles at Ella.  
“Alrighty then,” Ella laughed taking the bottles and bringing them into the kitchen. She stuck two in the freezer to get them cold faster and the other (there were six in total) she made room in her refrigerator for. She knew Des had gone to the room she had claimed as her own, the small one across from the bathroom on the hall. Whenever she had company over and Desiree was around she would get ridiculously territorial about that room so Ella just let her have it. They were like sisters and Ella had no issues with sharing her space with Des. Besides, Des almost always came loaded with alcohol for them to share. She couldn’t and wouldn’t complain about that.  
Des skated into the kitchen and headed for the wine glasses.  
“It hasn’t even been five minutes yet. Give them a bit to get cold, will you?”  
“Look,” Desiree said waiving a wine glass at Ella, “you can wait or you can join me. We’ll order pizza and be pleasantly buzzed by the time it gets here. I have this planned out. Don’t shit on my parade.”  
“And this is why I love you.”  
“I know. Call the order in.”  
   
Cade pulled into Ella’s gravel driveway and sat behind an Anthony’s pizza delivery vehicle. The smell of garlic from the car was so strong he could detect it before even opening the door to his own car. He backed up the cruiser enough to pull alongside the delivery vehicle and stepped out. He noticed another vehicle parked next to Ella’s Jeep. He didn’t recognize this one and that worried him.  
“What the hell is this now?” He asked no one as he walked over and inspected the other car. Nothing out of the ordinary inside and the scent of perfume wafted from the cracked windows. One of Ella’s friends maybe?  
He headed back to the front door. The delivery boy (and that’s all he was, he was barely enough to drive) was backing out of the door saying his thank you’s and backed right into Cade.  
“O-officer!” The kid squeaked, his face going eight shades of red simultaneously.  
Cade tipped his hat and let the kid haul ass to his car and leave. Cade shook his head. Had he been a real officer of the law he probably could have busted the kid based on the strong smell of marijuana coming off of him.  
  
   
Ella and Des were both laughing hysterically when the pizza boy arrived. They had already downed one bottle and started another when the doorbell rang. Des slid on the carpet in the hall and landed on her ass which made Ella collapse in a fit of hysterics next to her.  
“Fuck you!” Des yelled trying not to laugh but failing miserably.  
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Ella gasped.  
“Good thing I landed on my ass and not my head. I’d bleed out till you could talk again, you damn circus seal,” Des said smartly. This sent Ella into hysterics again.  
The pizza boy rang the bell again and knocked on the door.  
“Impatient little shit, ain’t he?” Ella asked as Des pulled her up off the floor.  
“No. Tip.”  
Desiree opened the door with Ella right behind her.  
“You’re late,” they snapped in unison. The kid was taken aback by the two ladies speaking in stereo to him. There wasn’t enough weed for this today.  
“S-sorry. Traffic, ya know?” The kid stammered. Ella and Des looked at each other and relented.  
“Eh,” Desiree said grabbing the two large pie boxes from him, “it happens. At least they’re still hot,” she finished as she carried them inside.  
“Here,” Ella said handing the kid the cash. “There’s a five in there for you, make sure you take it out of that.”  
“T-thanks! Thank you!” The kid seemed genuinely grateful. Ella waived away his gratitude when she saw someone familiar coming around to the front of the house.  
“Who’s that,” Des mumbled through a mouthful of pizza.  
“The deputy sheriff I told you about.”  
“Sweet jumped up Christ! Did they pour him into that uniform?”  
Ella started laughing again.

  



End file.
